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She said people also need to ensure they had up to date anti-virus software on their computer, make sure they did not click on links or respond to texts or emails and be careful not to make payments unless they were sure of the recipient.

The research has been released as part of International Fraud Awareness Week which runs from November 11 to 17.

It also revealed 30 per cent of those surveyed believed their parents were most at risk followed by their grandparents at 26 per cent.

"People are especially worried for the older generations. These scammers know how to pressure vulnerable people into quickly giving away confidential details such as PIN numbers, or into transferring money out of their accounts."

Ryan urged people to talk to family and friends about the risk and what they should do if someone they do not know calls them, emails or texts them or comes to their front door pretending to be from a certain company.

How to protect yourself against scam

• Monitor your bank statements regularly.

• Be suspicious of callers purporting to be from your bank, a utility company (Spark, Vodafone etc), or a government agency such as the Police or Inland Revenue, asking for your PIN number or your username or passwords for internet or telephone banking.

• Use privacy settings to limit who can see your information on social network sites – as these can be used to impersonate you or steal your identity.

• If you think you may have been targeted or fallen victim to a fraud or scam, contact your bank and let them know as soon as possible.